Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. "Christian" derives from the Koine Greek word Christós (Χριστός), a translation of the Biblical Hebrew term mashiach.Bickerman (1949) p. 145, The Christians got their appellation from "Christus," that is, "the Anointed," the Messiah. While there are diverse interpretations of Christianity which sometimes conflict, Beal states that, "Although all of them have their historical roots in Christian theology and tradition, and although most would identify themselves as Christian, many would not identify others within the larger category as Christian. Most Baptists and Fundamentalists, for example, would not acknowledge Mormonism or Christian Science as Christian. In fact, the nearly 77 percent of Americans who self-identify as Christian are a diverse pluribus of Christianities that are far from any collective unity." they are united in believing that Jesus has a unique significance. The term "Christian" is used adjectivally to describe anything associated with Christianity, or in a proverbial sense "all that is noble, and good, and Christ-like." According to a 2011 Pew Research Center survey, there were 2.2 billion Christians around the world in 2010, up from about 600 million in 1910. By 2050, the Christian population is expected to exceed 3 billion. According to a 2012 Pew Research Center survey Christianity will remain the world's largest religion in 2050, if current trends continue. Today, about 37% of all Christians live in the Americas, and about 26% live in Europe, 24% of total Christians live in sub-Saharan Africa, about 13% in Asia and the Pacific, and 1% of the world's Christians live in the Middle east and North Africa. About half of all Christians worldwide are Catholic, while more than a third are Protestant (37%). Orthodox communions comprise 12% of the world's Christians. Other Christian groups make up the remainder. Christians make up the majority of the population in 158 countries and territories. 280 million Christian live as a minority. Christians have made a myriad contributions in a broad and diverse range of fields, including the sciences, arts, politics, literatures and business.Religious Affiliation of History's 100 Most Influential PeopleThe Scientific 10050 Nobel Laureates and Other Great Scientists Who Believe in GodReligious Affiliation of the World's Greatest ArtistsThe Wealthy 100Religious Affiliation of History's Greatest Philosophers According to 100 Years of Nobel Prizes, a review of Nobel prizes awarded between 1901 and 2000 reveals that (65.4%) of Nobel Prizes laureates identified Christianity in its various forms as their religious preference.Baruch A. Shalev, 100 Years of Nobel Prizes (2003),Atlantic Publishers & Distributors , p.57: between 1901 and 2000 reveals that 654 Laureates belong to 28 different religion Most (65.4%) have identified Christianity in its various forms as their religious preference. Etymology The Greek word (Christianos), meaning "follower of Christ", comes from (Christos), meaning "anointed one",Christ at Etymology Online with an adjectival ending borrowed from Latin to denote adhering to, or even belonging to, as in slave ownership.Bickerman, 1949 p. 147, All these Greek terms, formed with the Latin suffix ''-ianus, exactly as the Latin words of the same derivation, express the idea that the men or things referred to, belong to the person to whose name the suffix is added.'' p. 145, In Latin this suffix produced proper names of the type ''Marcianus and, on the other hand, derivatives from the name of a person, which referred to his belongings, like fundus Narcissianus, or, by extension, to his adherents, Ciceroniani. In the Greek Septuagint, ''christos was used to translate the Hebrew מָשִׁיחַ (Mašíaḥ, messiah), meaning "who is anointed."Messiah at Etymology Online In other European languages, equivalent words to Christian are likewise derived from the Greek, such as Chrétien in French and Cristiano in Spanish. Early usage near Antakya, Turkey, in Antioch the disciples were called Christians.]] The first recorded use of the term (or its cognates in other languages) is in the New Testament, in , after Barnabas brought Saul (Paul) to Antioch where they taught the disciples for about a year, the text says: "... the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch." The second mention of the term follows in , where Herod Agrippa II replied to Paul the Apostle, "Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian." The third and final New Testament reference to the term is in , which exhorts believers: "Yet if man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf." Kenneth Samuel Wuest holds that all three original New Testament verses' usages reflect a derisive element in the term Christian to refer to followers of Christ who did not acknowledge the emperor of Rome.Wuest-1973 p. 19. The word is used three times in the New Testament, and each time as a term of reproach or derision. Here in Antioch, the name ''Christianos was coined to distinguish the worshippers of the Christ from the Kaisarianos, the worshippers of Caesar.'' The city of Antioch, where someone gave them the name Christians, had a reputation for coming up with such nicknames.Wuest-1973 p. 19. The city of Antioch in Syria had a reputation for coining nicknames. However Peter's apparent endorsement of the term led to its being preferred over "Nazarenes" and the term Christianoi from 1 Peter becomes the standard term in the Early Church Fathers from Ignatius and Polycarp onwards.Christine Trevett '' Christian women and the time of the Apostolic Fathers'' 2006 "'Christians' (christianoi) was a term first coined in Syrian Antioch (Acts 11: 26) and which appeared next in Christian sources in Ignatius, Eph 11.2; Rom 3.2; Pol 7.3. Cf. too Did 12.4; MPol 3.1; 10.1; 12.1-2; EpDiog 1.1; 4.6; 5.1;" The earliest occurrences of the term in non-Christian literature include Josephus, referring to "the tribe of Christians, so named from him;" Pliny the Younger in correspondence with Trajan; and Tacitus, writing near the end of the 1st century. In the Annals he relates that "by vulgar appellation were commonly called Christians" and identifies Christians as Nero's scapegoats for the Great Fire of Rome. Nazarenes Another term for Christians which appears in the New Testament is "Nazarenes" which is used by the Jewish lawyer Tertullus in Acts 24. Tertullian (Against Marcion 4:8) records that "the Jews call us Nazarenes," while around 331 AD Eusebius records that Christ was called a Nazoraean from the name Nazareth, and that in earlier centuries "Christians," were once called "Nazarenes."Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies: Volume 65, Issue 1 University of London. School of Oriental and African Studies - 2002 "... around 331, Eusebius says of the place name Nazareth that 'from this name the Christ was called a Nazoraean, and in ancient times we, who are now called Christians, were once called Nazarenes';6 thus he attributes this designation ..." The Hebrew equivalent of "Nazarenes", Notzrim, occurs in the Babylonian Talmud, and is still the modern Israeli Hebrew term for Christian. Modern usage and Ichthys symbols, two symbols often used by Christians to represent their religion.]] Definition A wide range of beliefs and practices is found across the world among those who call themselves Christian. Denominations and sects disagree on a common definition of "Christianity". For example, Timothy Beal notes the disparity of beliefs among those who identify as Christians in the United States as follows: Although all of them have their historical roots in Christian theology and tradition, and although most would identify themselves as Christian, many would not identify others within the larger category as Christian. Most Baptists and Fundamentalists , for example, would not acknowledge Mormonism or Christian Science as Christian. In fact, the nearly 77 percent of Americans who self-identify as Christian are a diverse pluribus of Christianities that are far from any collective unity. Linda Woodhead attempts to provide a common belief thread for Christians by noting that "Whatever else they might disagree about, Christians are at least united in believing that Jesus has a unique significance." Philosopher Michael Martin, in his book The Case Against Christianity, evaluated three historical Christian creeds (the Apostles' Creed, the Nicene Creed and the Athanasian Creed) to establish a set of basic assumptions which include belief in theism, the historicity of Jesus, the Incarnation, salvation through faith in Jesus, and Jesus as an ethical role model. Hebrew terms is described as the childhood home of Jesus. Many languages employ the word "Nazarene" as a general designation for those of Christian faith.]] The identification of Jesus as the Messiah is not accepted by Judaism. The term for a Christian in Hebrew is נוּצְרי (Notzri—"Nazarene"), a Talmudic term originally derived from the fact that Jesus came from the Galilean village of Nazareth, today in northern Israel.Nazarene at Etymology Online Adherents of Messianic Judaism are referred to in modern Hebrew as יְהוּדִים מָשִׁיחַיים (Yehudim Meshihi'im—"Messianic Jews"). Arabic terms In Arabic-speaking cultures, two words are commonly used for Christians: Naṣrānī ( ), plural Naṣārā ( ) is generally understood to be derived from Nazareth through the Syriac (Aramaic); Masīḥī ( ) means followers of the Messiah.Khaled Ahmed, Pakistan Daily Times.Society for Internet Research, The Hamas Charter, note 62 (erroneously, "salidi"). The term Nasara rose to prominence in July 2014, after the Fall of Mosul to the terrorist organization Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. The nun or — the first letter of Nasara—was spray-painted on the property of Christians ejected from the city. Where there is a distinction, Nasrani refers to people from a Christian culture and Masihi means those with a religious faith in Jesus.Jeffrey Tayler, Trekking through the Moroccan Sahara. In some countries Nasrani tends to be used generically for non-Muslim Western foreigners, e.g. "blond people." Another Arabic word sometimes used for Christians, particularly in a political context, is Ṣalībī ( "Crusader") from ṣalīb ( "cross") which refers to Crusaders and has negative connotations.Akbar S. Ahmed, Islam, Globalization, and Postmodernity, p 110. However, Salibi is a modern term; historically, Muslim writers described European Christian Crusaders as al-Faranj or Alfranj ( ) and Firinjīyah ( ) in Arabic"Rashid al-din Fazl Allâh, quoted in Karl Jahn (ed.) Histoire Universelle de Rasid al-Din Fadl Allah Abul=Khair: I. Histoire des Francs (Texte Persan avec traduction et annotations), Leiden, E. J. Brill, 1951. (Source: M. Ashtiany) This word comes from the Franks and can be seen in the Arab history text Al-Kamil fi al-Tarikh by Ali ibn al-Athir. "Account of al-Faranj seizing Antioch" Year 491AH, The Complete History Asian terms The most common Persian word is Masīhī ( ), from Arabic.,Other words are Nasrānī ( ), from Syriac for "Nazarene", and Tarsā ( ), from Middle Persian word Tarsāg, also meaning "Christian", derived from tars, meaning "fear, respect".MacKenzie, D. N. (1986). A Concise Pahlavi Dictionary. London: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-713559-5 The Syriac term Nasrani (Nazarene) has also been attached to the Saint Thomas Christians of Kerala, India. In the Indian subcontinent, Christians call themselves Isaai ( , ), and are also known by this term to adherents of other religions. This is related to the name they call Jesus,'' 'Isa Masih'', and literally means 'the followers of 'Isa'. In the past, the Malays used to call the Portuguese Serani from the Arabic Nasrani, but the term now refers to the modern Kristang creoles of Malaysia. The Chinese word is (pinyin: jīdū tú), literally "Christ follower." The two characters now pronounced Jīdū in Mandarin Chinese, were originally pronounced Ki-To in Cantonese as representation of Latin "Cristo". In Vietnam, the same two characters read Cơ đốc, and a "follower of Christianity" is a tín đồ Cơ đốc giáo. In Japan, the term kirishitan (written in Edo period documents 吉利支丹, 切支丹, and in modern Japanese histories as キリシタン), from Portuguese cristão, referred to Roman Catholics in the 16th and 17th centuries before the religion was banned by the Tokugawa shogunate. Today, Christians are referred to in Standard Japanese as キリスト教徒, Kirisuto-kyōto or the English-derived term クリスチャン kurisuchan. Korean still uses 기독교도, Kidok-kyo-do for "Christian", though the Greek form Kurisudo 그리스도 has now replaced the old Sino-Korean Kidok, which refers to Christ himself. Russian terms The region of modern Eastern Europe and Central Eurasia (Russia, Ukraine and other countries of the ex-USSR) have a long history of Christianity and Christian communities on its lands. In ancient times, in the first centuries after the birth of Christ, when this region was called Scythia - Christians already lived there.http://azbyka.ru/dictionary/03/kartashev_vselenskie_sobory_07-all.shtml#s19 Later the region saw the first states to adopt Christianity officially - initially in Armenia (301 AD) and in Georgia (337 AD), later in the Great Russian Principality (Kyivan Rus, , ca 988 AD). People of that time used to denote themselves Christians (христиане, крестьяне) and Russians (русские). Both terms had strong Christian connotations. It is also interesting that in time the term "крестьяне" acquired the meaning "peasants of Christian faith" and later "peasants" (the main part of the population of the region), while the term "христиане" retained its religious meaning and the term "русские" began to mean representatives of the heterogeneous Russian nation formed on the basis of common Christian faith and language, which strongly influenced the history and development of the region. In the region the "Pravoslav faith" (православная вера - Orthodox faith) or "Russian faith" (русская вера) from earliest times became almost as known as the original "Christian faith" (христианская, крестьянская вера). Also in some contexts the term "cossack" (козак, казак - free man by the will of God) was used to denote "free" Christians of steppe origin and Russian language. Demographics As of the early 21st century, Christianity has approximately 2.4 billion adherents.33.39% of 7.174 billion world population (under "People and Society") The faith represents about a third of the world's population and is the largest religion in the world. Christians have composed about 33 percent of the world's population for around 100 years. The largest Christian denomination is the Roman Catholic Church, with 1.17 billion adherents, representing half of all Christians.Pontifical Yearbook 2010, Catholic News Agency. Accessed September 22, 2011. Christianity remains the dominant religion in the Western World, where 70% are Christians. A 2011 Pew Research Center survey found that 76.2% of Europeans, 73.3% in Oceania, and about 86.0% in the Americas (90% in Latin America and 77.4% in North America) described themselves as Christians. According to 2012 Pew Research Center survey if current trends continue, Christianity will remains the world's largest religion by year 2050. By 2050, the Christian population is expected to exceed 3 billion. While Muslims have an average of 3.1 children per woman—the highest rate of all religious groups. Christians are second, with 2.7 children per woman. High birth rates and conversion were cited as the reason for the Christian population growths. A 2015 study found that approximately 10.2 million Muslim converted to Christianity. Christianity is growing in Africa, Asia, Latin America, Muslim world,Believers in Christ from a Muslim Background: A Global Census and Oceania. ::::::::::::: Notable individuals Christians have made a myriad contributions in a broad and diverse range of fields, including the sciences, arts, politics, literatures and business. According to 100 Years of Nobel Prizes, a review of Nobel prizes awarded between 1901 and 2000 reveals that (65.4%) of Nobel Prizes laureates identified Christianity in its various forms as their religious preference. According to Scientific Elite: Nobel Laureates in the United State by Harriet Zuckerman, a review of American Nobel prizes awarded between 1901 and 1972, 72% of American Nobel Prize laureates identified a Protestant background.Harriet Zuckerman, Scientific Elite: Nobel Laureates in the United States New York, The Free Pres, 1977 , p.68: Protestants turn up among the American-reared laureates in slightly greater proportion to their numbers in the general population. Thus 72 percent of the seventy-one laureates but about two thirds of the American population were reared in one or another Protestant denomination-) Overall, Protestants have won a total of 84.2% of all the Nobel Prizes in Chemistry, 60% in Medicine, and 58.6% in Physics awarded to Americans between 1901 and 1972. See also * Christendom * Christian Church * Christian population growth * Conversion to Christianity * Cultural Christian * Early Christianity * List of Christian denominations * List of Christian denominations by number of members * List of Christian synonyms * List of religions and spiritual traditions * List of religious organizations References Bibliography ;Etymology * also available in (from which page numbers are cited) * Category:General articles